CONCORD, N.C. — Ford’s domination of Saturday’s Hisense 4K TV 300 continued during Stage 2 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after Ryan Blaney drove around Denny Hamlin on lap 54 and led the remainder of the distance for his second NASCAR XFINITY Series stage win of the year.
Though Hamlin led the field back to green after Stewart Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer struggled during pit stops, Blaney quickly moved to the front and drove away to a 2.113 second margin by the lap 90 benchmark.
Blaney’s drive also completed a back-to-front charge for his No. 12 Snap-On Tools Ford Mustang, after he was forced to start at the rear of Saturday’s field for unapproved adjustments.
The stage ran without incident, after three mishaps in the opening 45-lap stage drew caution flags that slowed the pace.
“It was definitely pretty neat getting up through there,” Blaney said. “Our car was really good and I thought we made it just a little bit better in the second run. We still need to make adjustments, because the track’s still changing, but I’m happy right now.”
“Everyone else has to get better too, so hopefully we made the right changes and can finish this thing off. It’s been a fun race so far.”
Hamlin hung on to be the runner-up for a second-straight stage, followed by Austin Dillon and Harvick in a sweep of the top four spots in-stage for Cup regulars.
Yet again, Cole Custer was the top XFINITY driver in fifth, followed by Roush Fenway Racing teammates Darrell Wallace Jr. and Ryan Reed.
Ty Dillon, Brad Keselowski and Brennan Poole rounded out the top 10 points-scoring drivers in Stage 2.
Polesitter Justin Allgaier continued to struggle, finding himself 13th just prior to halfway.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 23-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
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